Washing machine



Jan. 20,.1931. R. HQE

WASHING MACHINE Filed Sept. 29, 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. WM

I e 6 I ATTORNEYS R. HOE

WASHING- MACHINE Filed Sept. 29, 1926 .6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. m -LdrM ATTORNEYS JamZO, 1931.

Jan. 2o, 1931. R. HOE .75

WASHING MACHINE Filed Sept. 29, 1926' 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 1 N VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS Jan. 20, 1931.

R. HOE

WASHING MACHINE Filed Sept. 29, 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 I N VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS Jan, 20, 1931. I RQHOE 1,739,752

WASHING MACHINE Filed Sept. 29, 1926 '6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVEN TOR.

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ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 20, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROBERT HOE,OF HYDE PAR-K, NEW YORK- WASHING MACHINE Application filed September 29,1926. .Serial No. 138,356.

afront View ofthe arrangement of Fig. 1,

the tub being shown in section; Fig. 3 1s a plan view of the arrangementshown in Figs. 1 and 2;,Fig. his another planview of'the arrangementshown in Figs. 1 and 2but in which the'washing devices have beendisconnected and swung out of the way while the wringer is in operativeposition; Fig. 5' isan enlarged view, partly broken away, of a part ofthe apparatus looking from the left inFig; 1; Fig. 6 is a section on theline'6'6of Fig. .5; Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of a portion of thedevices shownin Fig.6, but withsome of the parts in slightly differentpositions and with the cover of the gear b'ox'removed for a betterdisclosure; Fig. 8 is a detailed view showing some of the parts of Fig.2 in a different position, and Fig. 9 is an enlarged section of a partof Fig. 8, showing a detail. Like reference characters indicate likeparts in the several views.

In the arrangement shown in' the drawings which I have selected forpurposes of illustration, the washing apparatus is supported on a base10 provided with castors or the like by which it may be readily movedover the floor on which it rests, this'base havinga column 11 on'whichis supported a gear box sleeve 12, the latter being rotatable on thecolumn 11-and also vertically, adjustable thereon, as Well be describedhereinafter.

On the sleeve 12 is a casing 13'which, for brevity, I will call a gearbox, on which is mounted a motor 14 connectedby a belt 1 5 throughsuitable pulleys to a shaft 16 {connected to the gears in the gear box13.

Extending from the gear box 13 and coni nected to shaft 16 throughconnectionsto be described hereinafter, is an oscillatory driven shaftmade up of two parts 17 and 18 and connected, when the parts are inoperative position, .with their axes in alignment, by a tongue andgroove clutch, the tongue 19 being formed on the end of the part 18 andthe groove 20 being formed in the end of the part 17. This tongue andgroove clutch connection provides a means by which'power is transmittedfrom one shaft tothe other.

shaft 17 extends throughthe gear box 13 and the clutch connection is,therefore, just outside of the surface of this gear box.

The outer end of the shaft 18 is carried in The I a, bearing 19supported by a bracket 21 hingedly connected to the gear box l3'by' thehinge pins 22 extending through openings in j thelugs' 23 formed on theinner end of the bracket 21. By thisarrangement,

two shafts.

hinge pins 22.

On the outer end of the shaft'lS is formed, in the illustrativeembodiment, apai-r of flats it will be 18,as best shown in Fig. 4:,andsup'ported on the shaft 18: is an arm2 l. having a relatively narrowslot 25 extending from the bottom of its central hub with the sides ofthis slot engaging the flats on the end of the shaft 18. Preferablythese flats are formed 24: from longitudinal movement on back .from'theend ofthe shaft so as to leave .a projection 26 which serves to keep thearm the shaft.

'At each end of the arm 24 is pivotally connected a downwardly extendingrod 27, t0

the lower end ofwhich i fastened a bell '28 by means of the pivotconnection 29. The

two rods 27 are pivotally connected midway of their ends to a bar 3O.This bar 3O has a I pin 31 extending .into a fixed loop itsends engagingthe bracket 21.

32 having In practice, the rods 27 are each made up of two parts, one oneither side Of the arm 24 and with the bar 30 extending between theserods. This arrangement, however, is provided merely for purpose ofconvenience in manufacture and they are, in effect, the same as a singlerod and will sov be described hereinafter. 7

Each bell 28 has an upwardly projecting portion 33 with a pair of carsspaced apart at its top, a stop pin 34 connected to therods 27 extendinginto the space between these ears to limit the amount of motion whichcan be given to the bell 28 around its pivot 29. Similarly the loop 32limits the amount of longitudinal motion which the bar 30 may have.

Preferably, the rods 27 are provided withmeans by which their effectivelength may be changed and for this purpose, in the illustrativeembodiment, I make the connecting pins 24 removable and provide aplurality of holes 25" in the upper ends of these rods 27 so that thepins may be inserted in any desired set of holes. As illustrated, eachpin 24 is provided with a handle at one end and a recess at the otherend, this recess being engaged by a locking member 26 mounted to slideon the rod 27. When the locking member 26 is moved upwards, it isdisengaged from the recess in pin 24' which can then be removed. The endof arm 24 is then brought opposite another set of holes 25, the pin 24inserted and the member 26 moved down to lock the pin in its newposition.

WVhen the shaft'18 is oscillated, the bars 27 are reciprocated and thebells 28 are moved up and down in the water in the tub T to wash theclothes therein. I have found that it is desirable that the bells shouldhave motion'other than a direct up and down motion, and in thearrangement described, the bells may swing to the extreme positionsshown in Fig. 8, the pin 31- limiting the sidewise motion of the bellsand the pins 34 limiting the amount of pivotal motion which the bellsmay have. As a result, the bells are free to follow any path which theparticular quantity and position of clothes in the tub may determine andthe water and clothes 'will be given a motion which I have found to beparticularly advantageous in the Washing operation.

Each of the bells is preferably a hollow casting made of a generallyrectangular form in plan with the length of the bell shorter in thedirection of the arm 24 than in the direction of the axis of the shaft18. This enables the bells to cover a larger area than would otherwisebe possible and, at the same time, enables them to freely operate in thetub without being too close together. Moreover,

since the pivotal motion is around an axis parallel to the long axis ofthe bell, this motion is transmitted to a larger area than wouldotherwise be possible.

The arm 24 and all the parts connected thereto may be readily removedfrom the shaft 18 by means of the handle 35. It will be obvious that thearm 24 can be lifted directly upward and then moved laterally todisengage the pin 31 from the loop 32. I have found that it is notnecessary to provide any locking connection between the arm 24 and theshaft 18 when the driving arrangement of the flats on the shaft and theslot in the arm-24 is used. When the machine is in operation, theangular pressure developed by the bells 28 moving through the water issufficient to press the faces of the slot in con tact with the flats onthe shaft to prevent the lifting of the arm. My discovery that this is'sufficient is, of course, of verygreat advantage, because it does awayentirely with any disconnecting device which the user would have tomanipulate to release the parts from the machine.

It will be understood that the entire washing apparatus and motor, byreason of being mounting on the movable base 10, may be moved away fromthe tub, if desired, and it is necessary, therefore, to provide means bywhich the apparatus can be brought readily into operative positionrelative to the tub and locked there while the apparatus is working.

The operating parts are adjusted vertically to'suit the height of anyparticular tub by means of the adjustable sleeve 36 on the column 11,this sleeve being moved vertically to the desired position and heldthere, as by a pin passing through a selected pair of holes 37 in sleeve36 and a pair of holes in the column. 7 'On the sleeve 12 is a latcharranged .to drop into notches formed in the peripheryof the extension39 on sleeve 36. By lifting the handle40 of this latch,.the sleeve 12and the apparatus it carries may be turned to any desired position andre-locked by dropping the latch into another notch..

, On the sleeve 12 are exterior stops 41 held in lugs 42 on the sleeveby a screw or the like, so that the stops may be adjusted lengthwise tolimit the approach of the apparatus to the tub.. Preferably I provide astop 41 on each side of sleeve 12. Preferably the stops are made of woodso that the tub is not marred by the stops.

To lock the washing apparatus, by which ,I mean all parts, except themotor, which are carried on the support, in operative rela tion to thetub, I provide a pair of interior adjusted and locked in adjustedposition.

One end of each part 4.5 is pivotally connected to a hook 46 attached tobracket 21 at its outer end, these hooks being arranged so that the stoparm may be disconnectedfrom the hook, if desired. The end of thepart-44L is extended so that it rests on the top of the tub. Preferablythe parts 44, 45 arealso made of wood.

As will be best seen in Fig. 3, a stop 43 engages two opposite cornersof the tub and, by reason of the angular relation of the stop arms andtheir connection to the outer end of bracket 21, the apparatus is heldagainst motion away from the tub and also crosswise thereof. Byliftingthe stoparms, the stops are disengaged from the tub and theapparatus can then be moved away. I

- In practice I find that the interior stops 43 are usually, enough tohold the apparatus in.

proper relation to the tub because the reaction of the bells againstjthewater tends to slightly tilt the base 10 away from the tub,

which tilting is resisted by the stops 43 and there is seldom anytendency to move the apparatus closer to the tub. Hence in practice, theexterior stops 41' are preferably fixed so that they are not actually incontact with the exterior of the tub, and this is advantageous becauseit avoids any possible rubbing of such exterior. On the other hand, thepresence of the stops 41 prevents any possible movement of the apparatustoward the tub in case the clothes or the like in the water becomepositioned so as to produce a motion in that direction.

Bracket 21 is held in operative position with its end against the gearbox by a latch 47 pivoted at 48 on the gear box 13 and turned clockwisein Fig. 5 by a. light spring 4:9which .pressesa pin50 against side, ofthe latch. A latch toe 51 drops between. a pair of stops 52 on bracket21 whenthe bracket is turned into operative position, a cam, piece 53:on the bracket cooperating with a cam piece on the latch to turn thelatch counterclockwiseas the bracket is moved into operative position.

In order to prevent undue strain onthe hinge pins 22 arising. from anytwisting movement which the bells 28 might give to it as they move inthe water of the tub, I provide a pair of spaced lugs 21 on bracket 21on the side opposite the hinge and a fixed lug 22 on the gearbox 13, thefaces of the lug 22' fitting snugly against the faces of the lugs 21when bracket 21 is in operative position. This arrangementv will resistany tendency of bracket 21 to rotate on theaxis of shaft 18.

In the illustrative embodiment the shaft 17 is oscillated by thefollowing mechanism: The shaft 16, driven by the belt-15, extends intothe gear box 13 and has a bearing at its inner end. On the shaft is aworm 54 meshing with a worm wheel 55 on a crank shaft 56 supported inbearings in'a frame in the gear box. This frame 57 is provided with ears.58 which rest on lugs 59 'at opposite sides of the gear box, being heldthereto by'suitable screws, the frame 57 being independent of the wallsof the gear box and its cover plate 60.

' On the outer end of shaft 56 is a wheel 61,

thiswheel being a gear wheel for a purpose to be described hereinafter.The wheel61 carries a crank pin 62 on which is a pitman 63 connected toa crank 64 fastened to the shaft 17. It will be obvious from this thatthe. :rotation of the driving shaft 16- will cause the shaft 17 tooscillate and with it the shaft 18, thus. reciprocatingthe washingbells.

In conjunction with the washing devices proper, it is desirable to havea wringer and a wringer operating device, and to this end,

'Ihave provideda driving shaft 65 extending members 70, 71 of a commontype, this clutch connection being arranged so that when the bracket 68is swung on its hinge,'the shafts 65 and 69 will. be unclutched.

It is desirable that the wringershaft 69 be capable of rotation ineither directionand I provide the driving mechanism with arrangements sothat this can be accomplished.

In the illustrative embodiment, shaft 65 has loosely mounted thereon agear {7 2 meshing with the gear teeth on wheel 61 andalsov looselymounted on shaft 65 is anothergear 73 driven through an intermediategear 7.4 by a gear 75fastened to'the shaft 56. Each of the gears 72 and73 has clutch teeth formed in" its adjacent facesand between suchadjacent faces is a. clutch collar 76 connected toth shaft 65 but freeto move longitudinally thereon. The collar 76 has a I groove-77 in whichis an operating pin Y8 on the end of a lever 7 9 fastened to a verticalshaft 80 extending through bearing in the frame 57 in which bearing itis rotatable and slidably mounted, being held downward by a spring 81.The shaft 80 extends through the cover 60 and is provided with anoperatinghandle 82. In the top of the bearing for shaft 80 is formed. anumber of detent recesses which can be engaged by a pin 83 on shaft 80.7

With the parts in the positionshown in on shaft 65 and th e latterremains stationary.

.When it is desired to drive such shaft, the

5 and 6, the gears 72, 7 3 freely rotate and'this will start the shaft65in motion. It will be obvious that since gears 7 2, 7 3 turn inopposite directions, the direction of rot-ation of shaft 65 will bedetermined by the gear with which the clutch collar is engaged. Beforeturning the shaft 80, it will be raised slightly to disengage the pin 83from its detent recess and when it is released, the pin 83 will fallinto another recess to hold the clutch collar in engaging position.

A barrier 84 may be provided across the interior of the gear box'13,this barrier serving as a support for the inner bearing 85 of theshaft 65 and also serving to form an oil pocket between it and theright-hand outer wall of the gear box 13 in Fig. 6, so that the worm 54:can run in oil while keeping the remainder of the gear box relativelyfree from oil. It will be understood, of course, that While it isdesirable to run the worm a in oil, it is not desirable to have any moreopenings than are necessary through which the lubricant can find its wayto the exterior of the gear box and for that reason and also because ofthe easy assemblage which is made possible thereby, I provide the frame57 so that the bearings for the shaft 56 will be entirely inside of andfree from the walls of the gear box. Consequently the only shaftsextending through the gear box are the driving shaft 16, the oscillatingshaft 17 and the rotating shaft 65, and in each case, only one bearingneed be made oil-tight, which may be done in any of the usual manners,such as that illustrated in Fig. 6.

Bracket 66 wit-l1 its connected wringer and wringer shaft 69 are held inoperative position by the latch 47, the bracket 66 having a projection86 with angular faces, one of which engages operatively with the angledface of a projection 87 on the latch 47 above the pivot 48 thereof.YVhen the bracket 66 swung to the position shown in Fig. 7 the latch 47is first rotated counterclockwise and then the projection 87 snaps intoplace in front of the projection 86. It will be noted that because ofthe angular relation between the contacting faces of the projections 86and 87 the bracket 66 is not locked positively but that whenconsiderable vpressure is applied to the wringer carried on the bracket66, the

latch will be pushed back against the pressure of the light spring 49 topermit the wringer to be swung counterclockwise in Fig. 7, and this willbreak the clutched connection between the shafts and 69. Thisarrangement is provided for safety so that in case the operator shouldbecome entangled between the wringer rolls, a push will immediatelydisconnect the wringer driving mechanisnrandstop the turning of thewringer rolls.

It will be understood that the wringer bracket 66 and the wringerconnected thereto a can be entirely removed from the apparatus bylifting the lugs onthe bracket from the hinge pins 67, and this is thecondition shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

It will be understood that when the washingdevices are in use, thewringer is not in use and vice versa and the wringer may be entirelyremoved from the machine when the washing is being done and similarlythe washing apparatus, including the bracket 21, may

be removed from the machine when the clothesv are being wrung. By thearrangement provided, it will also be obvious that the wringer can beoperated either when in the position shown in Fig. 4, directly over No.1.771,629, I have'illustrated and claimed broadly a combinationof asupport and a device hinged thereto, each carrying shafts which areclutched together or disconnected by movement of the device on thehinge. In my copending application, Serial No. 263,222, which has nowmatured into Patent No. 157L630, I have illustrated and claimed acombination of a support and device hinged together, and each carryingshafts which are likewise adapted to be brought into operative orinoperative positions by swinging of the device on the hinge, togetherwith means to yieldingly hold the support and device in operativerelation to each other. Inthis lastnamed patent, I have also claimedother features including the arrangement whereby saidclutch'isdisconnected upon rotation of one of said shafts in the wrongdirection.

It is to be understood that the claims in the present application arenot intended to be directed to any of the features enumerated above. orother features covered by the claims in said patents.

It will be understood that the arrangement which I have described ismerely illustrative and that the embodiment of my invention may bewidely varied. It 'will also be understood that many of the features ofmy invention may be used independently of other features.

v I claim:

1. In combination, a support resting on the floor and freely movablethereon, a washing apparatus mounted on said support and movabletherewith, power devices on said support to drive said apparatus, a tubhaving a substantially rectangular opening, a bracka connected to saidsupport and extending over the tub, and means to hold said support and1ts washing apparatus in fixed relat on with the tub, including stopsbearing against at least two interior corners of the tub and armsconnecting said stops with said bracket.

2. In combination, a support resting on the floor andfreely movablethereon, a washing apparatus mounted on said support and movabletherewith, power devices on said support to drive said apparatus, a tubhaving a substantially rectangular opening, and a bracket connected tosaid support and extending over the tub, said apparatus comprising meansto hold said support and washing apparatus in fixed relation with thetub, said means including stops bearing against at least two interiorcorners of the tub and arms connecting said stops with said bracket,said arms being pivotally connected to said bracket to permit the stopsto be lifted above the top of the tub.

3. In combination, a support resting on the floor and freely movablethereon, a wash- 7 ing apparatus mounted on said support,

power devices on said support to drive said apparatus, a tub having asubstantially rectangular opening, and a bracket connected to saidsupport and forming part of said apparatus and extending over the tub,said apparatus comprising means to hold said support and washingapparatus in fixed relation with the tub, said means including stopsbearing against at least two interior corners of the tub and armsconnecting said stops with said bracket, said arms being adjustable inlength'to bring the stops in proper holding relation to the tub, saidarms comprising a pair of superposed members and means to clamp them inextended posit-ion.

4. In combination, a support resting on the floor and freely movablethereon, a washing apparatus mounted on said support and movabletherewith, power devices on said support to drive said apparatus, a tubhaving a substantially rectangular opening, said apparatus comprisingmeans to hold said support and washing apparatus in fixed relation withthe tub, said means including stops connected to the washing apparatusand bearing against the interior of at least. two corners of the tub anda stop connected to the washing apparatus and bearing against theexterior of the tub. r

' 5. In combination, a support resting on the fioor and freely movablethereon, a washing apparatus mounted on said support, power devices onsaid support to drive said apparatus, a tub having a substantiallyrectangular opening, and a bracket connected to said support andextending over the tub,

said apparati'is comprising means to hold said support and washingapparatus in fixed relation with the tub, said means including stopsbearing against at least two interior corners of the tub and armsconnecting said stops with said bracket, said arms being long enough torest on the top of the tub and the diate the endsjthereof. I 7

6. In a washing machine, an oscillating stops being connected barpivotally connected to each of said rodsfl and free of otherconnections, so that it may move longitudinally of itself to permit thebells to move horizontally as they are reciprocated vertically byoscillation of the arm.

7.- In a: washing machine, an oscillating horizontal power shaft, an armconnectedto' said shaft and oscillating therewith, a pair of downwardlyextending rods, each pivotally connected to an end of said arm, awashing bell on the lower end of each rod and a bar pivotally connectedto'each of said rods and free of other connections, so that it may movelongitudinally of itself to permit the-bells to move horizontally asthey are reciprocated vertically by oscillation of the arm, and means tolimit the extent of such longitudinal motion.

8. In a washing machine, an oscillating horizontal power shaft, an armconnected to said shaft and oscillating therewith, a pair of downwardlyextending rods, each pivotally connected to an end of said arm, awashing bell on the lower end of each rod and a bar pivotally connectedto each of said rods and free to move longitudinally of itself to permitthe bells to move horizontally as they are reciprocated vertically byoscillation of the arm, and means to limit the extent of suchlongitudinal motion, said means comprising a fixed'loop and a pin insaid'bar and extending through said loop.

9, In a washing machine, an oscillating horizontal power shaft, an armconnected to said shaft and oscillating therewith, a pair of downwardlyextending rods,each pivotally connected to an end of said arm, and awashing hell on the lower end of each rod, each bell being pivotallyconnected to its rod, and

cooperating elements on said rod and its associated bell to limit therotation of the bell on its pivot.

10. In a washing machine, an oscillating horizontal power shaft, an armconnected to said shaft and oscillating therewith, a pair of downwardlyextending rods, each pivotally connected to an end of said arm and awashing bell on the lower end of each rod,

each bell being connected to its rod by a pivot extending transverselyof the plane of said arm, whereby the bell is free to oscillate on itspivot in the plane of said arm, and co-acting elements on eachrod andassociated bell to limit the extent of oscillation of each bell.

11. In a washing machine, a support, an Oscillating power shaft havingone end in to the arms interme-' said support, a bracket removablyconnected t to said support and having a bearing for said shaft remotefrom said support, an arm connected to the outer end of said shaftoutside said bearing, a washing bell connected to 'each of the oppositeends of said arm, said shaft being divided into two parts between saidbearing and said support and the two parts having a clutched connectionwhen the parts are in operative position, whereby the oscillation of thepart of the shaft in said support will oscillate the part in saidbearing.

oscillating power shafthaving one end in said support, a bracket hingedto saidsupport to permit the bracket to be swung horizontally, a bearingfor said shaft in said bracket, an arm connected to said shaft outsidesaid bearing, a washing bell connected to each of the opposite ends ofsaid arm, said shaft being divided into two parts between said bearingand said support, said parts.

having a clutched connection therebetwecn, whereby when the parts are inoperative relation oscillatory movement will be transmitted from onepart of the shaft to the other, and

whereby when said bracket is swung out-' Wardly from the support, saidparts will be disconnected.

13. In a washing-machine, a support, an oscillating power shaft havingone end in said support, a bracket hinged to said support to permit thebracket to be swung horizontally, a bearing for said shaft in saidbracket, an arm connected to said shaft outside said bearing, a washingbell connected to each of the opposite ends of said arm, said shaftbeing divided into two parts between said bearing and said support, saidparts having a clutched connection therebetween,

whereby when the parts are in operative rela-' tion oscillatory movementwill be transmitted from one part of the shaft to the. other, andwhereby when said bracket is swung outwardly from the support, saidparts will be disconnected, and a latch to hold said bracket againstrotation on its hinge.

ROBERT HOE.

12. In a washing machine, a support, an

